A Cat, a Dragon, and a Diverted Fate
by ShalaDakiri
Summary: "She must have smacked her head harder than she thought, because she was not seeing a miniature, purple dragon dive-bombing that demon."
1. A Girl Needs a Knife

Disclaimer: Buffy belongs to Joss Whedon and X-Men and Marvel belong to (I can't believe I'm saying this) Disney.

Archive: Please! Just email me to let me know where.

Summary: "She must have smacked her head harder than she thought, because she was not seeing a miniature, purple dragon dive-bombing that demon."

A Girl Needs a Knife

* * *

><p>Night in the city was never silent, but sometimes it was quiet.<p>

For one teenager, quiet would be a vast improvement as she slumped to the ground after being thrown against an alley wall. She tried to shake it off before the thing could attack again, but pain from earlier wounds, the weird cold, and now the crash had left her feeling sluggish.

As she tried to roll away from the slashing claws she heard shouting from the mouth of the alley. The demon caught her leg, but she managed to snag the knife she dropped earlier and jammed the blade into its forearm.

It screamed, reared back. Someone grabbed her and she found herself being hauled out of the way. She tried to pull away, wanting to finish off the demon, but her head swam, she hurt everywhere, and she'd started shivering from the cold.

"Relax, Lockheed's got this." A female voice said.

She twisted around and blinked. She must have smacked her head harder than she thought, because she was _not_ seeing a miniature, purple dragon dive-bombing that demon. It even breathed fire. The monster clearly hated it, but just wasn't fast enough to take out the agile flier.

"What the-"

"N'Garai. I found its trail earlier. They're vulnerable to fire and Lockheed's got plenty."

The demon dropped, still twitching, but the little dragon began tearing at the body and continued spouting jets of fire at the exposed flesh.

"Watcher?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind." She turned to look at her rescuer.

The girl-or maybe young woman-appeared a couple years older. Shoulder-length brown hair spilled over a worn, black leather jacket unzipped to reveal a bright green t-shirt. If it weren't for the demon-fighting dragon she would've thought her as the girl-next-door type.

"I'm Kitty."

"Faith."

Kitty reached for a dropped backpack and dug out a first aid kit.

Faith rubbed at her eyes, "There's a dragon. A pint-sized, purple _dragon_."

"You were attacked by a demon and you're hung up on Lockheed?" Kitty shook her head in amusement. "This is going to sting, but I need to see how bad your wounds are."

"I've had worse."

Kitty nodded as she started cleaning Faith's injuries, "You're lucky you're still in one piece. I've seen those things tear through concrete, shred steel...the first time I ran into one was before Lockheed. I killed it with the afterburners on a jet. Actually, I named him after that jet."

Faith gritted her teeth against the stinging on top of the throbbing. The combination of pain, the cold, and now the waning adrenaline made it increasingly difficult to stay awake.

"Lockheed found me when I was a kid. He followed me home and he's stayed with me since." Kitty looked up, frowned. "Hey, come on, stay with me here."

Faith shook her head to refocus. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Kitty flashed a knowing look as she continued cleaning the wounds. "Although, these don't look quite as bad as I thought."

"Told ya, 'm fine." Even as she spoke, she could feel herself slipping towards unconsciousness, to the sound of cursing that sounded oddly like Russian.


	2. The Lost and Found

The Lost and Found

Kitty paced the waiting room, hoping she hadn't made a huge mistake in calling an ambulance for Faith. Unfortunately, she hadn't realized the girl had a healing factor until just before it pulled up to the alley. On the other hand, the paramedics seemed to assume they were sisters and, so far, Kitty hadn't corrected them. Until she knew how local opinions about mutants ran, she didn't want to leave the girl unprotected.

"Miss?"

Kitty paused to look at the doctor.

"I'm Dr. Jordan. Your sister's awake." He hesitated, "She...doesn't seem to remember you though."

"Half-sister." Kitty lied, "My dad had an affair and I only found out about her a couple weeks ago. This weekend is the first we've actually met."

"I see. I...apologize how this might sound, but...have you considered having any kind of genetic tests done?"

Kitty felt her stomach sink at his tone, "Why?"

"Your sister...may be a mutant. At the rate she's healing-"

"She'll be fine, then?"

"I believe so."

"I want to see her."

"But-"

"I don't care if she does happen to be a mutant. I want to see her. Now."

"Fine." The doctor said stiffly, "This way."

Faith scratched irritably at her taped ribs while a nurse looked over the monitoring equipment. She almost wished they would leave her alone so she could sneak out, but she had to admit to some curiosity about her so-called sister.

She heard voices outside her room. One Faith recognized as the doctor but the other only sounded vaguely familiar.

They rounded into her room and she realized it was the girl from alley. She could see why no one had questioned who ever had claimed they were sisters.

"Hey." The girl looked slightly hesitant, "I know Dad was a bastard for not telling either of us about each other, but I really do want to get to know you."

Faith glanced at the doctor's sour expression. She weighed that against what she remembered before passing out and decided to play along...for the moment.

"Yeah, whatever. How long I gotta stay here?"

"I have a few more tests-"

Her apparent sister stepped in front of him, "She's not a lab-rat. Not for you, and not for whoever's writing your paycheck."

"She's a patient at this hospital."

Faith rolled her eyes, "She is right here. And I gotta agree about not bein' a lab-rat"

"I'd like to talk to my sister alone."

"Of course." The doctor walked out, followed by the nurse.

"Sorry if I made things complicated for you. I'm Kitty. I told you last night, but you were pretty out of it."

"Right. Sisters?"

"I didn't realize you were healing until it was too late to call off the ambulance. The paramedics assumed and," Kitty shrugged, "it seemed the best way to protect you."

"Protect me? From what?"

"The doctor thinks you're a mutant. He never outright said it, but he gave me the impression he didn't much like us. I don't _think_ he'll actually do anything nasty to you..."

"But you aren't sure."

"Pretty much. And I figured if he thought you had family watching, he'd be even less likely to pull something."

"Why me? Not like you owe me or nothing. Or is it you want something?"

"I made a decision years ago to use my abilities to protect people."

"I don't need protecting."

"Don't know too many people who can protect themselves if they're unconscious."

"Whatever. Your dad gonna be pissed about what you said about him?"

Kitty shrugged, "He'll probably never know. He disappeared on a business trip to Japan a few years ago."

"Convenient. So, what do you want?"

"Want?"

"For helping me."

"You don't owe me anything."

"Bull. You don't do stuff like this for nothing."

"Fine." Kitty rubbed her eyes. "If it makes you feel better, consider it a thank you for keeping that N'Garai from killing anyone. I was hunting it anyway."

Faith picked at the hospital gown, "You said something about getting me out of here, Cat?"

"Yeah, I did. How fast do you heal?"

"Most stuff heals in about a day or two, why?"

"Good. I'll go make sure everything's squared with the hospital."

Faith watched her leave, considering her options. She could walk out-her leg felt usable, if a bit stiff. It wouldn't be the first time she'd skipped out from somewhere, but if the hospital believed she had a sister...Faith shook off that line of thought. Maybe it would be worth it to wait.

By the time the release papers had been signed and a taxi called, Faith just wanted to go back to her motel, shower and sleep the rest of the night. Her new...whatever Kitty was climbed into the cab next to her.

"I don't need a babysitter to walk me home."

"I'm not." Kitty retorted, "I left my bike a few blocks from the alley. I really hope it's still there."

"Good luck with that. What kind is it?"

"Nothing special, just an inexpensive motorcycle somebody was selling. I doubt it's worth more than a couple hundred in trade."

Faith smirked, "Why not something better?"

"Last night? Really not that unusual for me. I seem to find enough trouble I'd rather not risk trashing an expensive motorcycle-or worse a classic."

"Huh. Guess that makes sense." Faith shook her head, "So where are you from?"

"Chicago, went to school in New York for a year, then I spent several years in England and Scotland. You?"

"Boston."

"Nice city but, no offense, there's people there I'd rather avoid."

"I get that." Faith turned to stare out the window.

"So, Boston. Red Sox fan?"

"Sometimes. I haven't had time to follow them this year."

"I think they're sitting pretty close to my Cubs, but they don't play each other this year. Not unless both teams make the Series."

"You like baseball?"

"Yeah. I didn't have many chances to watch until I came back to the States, though."

Faith started to relax as Kitty stayed on the topic of baseball. She seemed convinced Sosa would beat McGwire to the home run record. Even Faith hadn't missed that bit of sports news, although she thought Kitty's opinion had more to do with team loyalty than anything else.

When the cab stopped at the motel, Kitty frowned.

"You live here?"

"Only a couple days." Faith started to get out.

"Wait-"

"Look, you got your life, I got mine. If you don't want nothing, I'm out of here." She slid out, ignoring anything else Kitty might have said.

Faith paused at the motel entrance to watch the cab pull away then shook her head. She was better off alone.


	3. Journey of the Sorcerer

Journey of the Sorcerer

* * *

><p>Her motorcycle sat where Kitty left it, the purple form curled on the seat telling her where Lockheed had gone after the fight and why her bike hadn't been stolen.<p>

"Hey, dragon, you have a good night?"

He raised his head to give her a smug look.

"What am I saying," she grinned fondly, "you killed a big, nasty demon, of course you had a good night."

As she mounted the bike, Lockheed swung his head around, growling. Kitty followed his look to see three men coming towards her. More footsteps from the other side proved to be a man and woman. They all appeared normal enough but something about these people seemed...off.

Kitty debated her odds of winning if it came to a fight. She and Lockheed could easily handle five normal opponents. Experience and the dragon's reaction told her they weren't. A couple of them reminded her of newly active mutants; she guessed physical enhancements. One of them moved closer and something about his body language and animal-like face had her amending her assessment to feral. In fact, the entire group reminded her of a wolf pack.

"Told ya she'd be back." He smirked.

A second guy stood next to him, "You sure it's her?"

"It's not?"

"Boss never said nothing about the purple thing."

"Just grab her. Either we got the Slayer or we got dinner."

Kitty didn't know who or what a slayer was but she had no intention of letting them take her anywhere. Five normal people? No problem. Five ferals with no clue as to training? She jammed the key into the ignition, started the bike, and kicked it into gear.

The ferals moved in, two on each side, one directly in front. A good tactic against most people, but Kitty simply phased and took off.

Kitty didn't know what happened, just that as she passed through the feral, her body felt as though every muscle cramped. As she lost control of her motorcycle, a familiar roar accompanied the blast of heat from Lockheed's fire. Screaming and the smell of burning flesh ended abruptly with a soft explosion not unlike Kurt's teleports.

By the time she recovered enough to look up, she saw the last of her attackers running off with an irate dragon in pursuit. Kitty pulled her bike upright, intending to follow. She started the bike.

Kitty frowned and tried the key again. She could hear a soft click with each attempt, but the engine wouldn't even turn over. She groaned, dropping her head to the handlebar. It figured her phasing had shorted out the one critical electrical system when she lost control.

* * *

><p>The dead-but-not thing ran fast. Lockheed flew faster. He could have easily caught it already, he just felt like playing with it first. They died too quickly, although they made an interesting explosion when they did.<p>

Lockheed decided to finally end the chase when the thing turned into an alley. He shot a jet of fire at it and landed to watch the thing flail around. Its attempts to put the fire out only caused it to spread faster until it exploded into ash and dust.

The little dragon snorted, sending the dust swirling away.

"Holy shit, you're real!"

Lockheed looked up to see a teenaged girl crouched on the fire escape. His mind blanked for a long moment. Soap clung to her hair and body. She gripped a towel in one hand, a sharpened stick in the other. Then he noticed the angry, red claw marks on her leg and realized she was the same girl he and Kitty rescued earlier that night.

He flew up to her level. She stumbled backwards with a pained hiss as she jarred not-quite-healed wounds.

Lockheed tilted his head slightly, testing her emotions. Confusion/pain/exhaustion covered bravado/innuendo covered guilt/fear/rage covered predatory instincts too new for her to be fully confident in them.

"You ain't here to turn me into crispy-fried Slayer, are you?"

Lockheed snorted, "Hmph!"

He didn't know what a Slayer was or how it related to what the dead-but-not thing had called his human, but he doubted it could be coincidence. Of course, if somebody was using those things to look for Slayer and they thought it was Kitty...Lockheed narrowed his eyes slightly. He would have to get her to explain the mix up and why his human had been attacked.

Lockheed snickered. He had learned a few about human females during his time on Earth and, based on what he'd sensed, he had an idea of how to get her back to Kitty.

"What are you looking at?" The predatory sense grew stronger as she tensed.

He darted forward and...

"Hey!"

...snagged the towel in his claws.

"Give that back!"

Lockheed paused at the and of the alley to watch the girl scramble down the fire escape. As soon as she reached the ground he took off.

"Get back here!"

"Nah."

He flew just fast enough to stay out of her reach, taunting her into pursuing him back to Kitty.

* * *

><p>Faith gritted her teeth as the annoying little dragon seemed to laugh at her. First it had interrupted her shower, although seeing that vamp burn up had been kind of funny. Then it stole her towel.<p>

"CooOOoo."

That sounded suspiciously like the wolf-whistles she heard in clubs and bars.

"Are you-?"

The little dragon tilted its head as if listening to something before taking off again. Faith growled her irritation. Her leg ached, the nearly-dried soap itched, and she refused to let that thing get away.

It turned down a street just ahead of her. She pushed her speed, rounding the corner, only to all but dance to a halt to avoid running into a woman pushing a motorcycle.

"Watc-You!"

"Faith?" Kitty's obvious shock faded quickly, eyes narrowing as she looked up. "Lockheed, get your purple butt back down here! _Now_!"

The little dragon peered over a window ledge. "Coo?"

"Not this time, Buster. You knew she was injured. There was no reason to make her run through the streets-_especially_ not naked!"

"Not like it's the first time." Faith smirked

Kitty turned on her, "That's not the point. You might heal fast, but you're still limping. You're lucky no one else saw you and called the cops."

"That wouldn't be a first, either."

"Somehow, I can believe that." She looked up again, "Lockheed!"

This time, the dragon swooped down to drop the slightly-worse-for-wear towel, although he stayed out of reach before heading back to the ledge.

"A towel?" Kitty grinned slowly, "You have to be a hitchhiker to go chasing after a towel like that."

"Hitchhiker? You think just because I-"

"Hey, whoa, relax! I didn't mean anything by it. I was just talking about _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_. By Douglas Adams? There's a whole section about the usefulness of towels."

Faith stared at her, "You're nuts."

"Probably." Kitty cheerfully agreed before digging around in one of the bike's saddle bags, "And you're going to get arrested if you keep running around like that. Here. You look about my size."

A pair of jeans and a t-shirt flew her way.

"First the hospital, now clothes? A girl might think you're interested."

"You're not my type." Kitty said dryly, holding out a pair of sneakers, "Lockheed though? He might not be human, but he's still male and he doesn't seem to have a problem with cross-species attraction."

Faith snorted as she finished dressing. The clothes fit looser than she preferred-and the pants were a bit long-but they weren't obviously too big, either.

"He's got good taste, at least."

"So long as you're not an evil genius's second in command."

"What?" She couldn't tell if Kitty was being serious.

"Long story, but her boss was a psychotic little creep."

"Sounds like half the guys I know."

"Any of them have a thing for building demented amusement parks and killer robots?"

"What?" Faith wondered how the conversation had turned from slightly odd to completely bizarre.

"Like I said-"

"Long story. Right. So, you mind givin' me a ride, since it was your pet got me here?"

"I would, but the starter's fried."

"I could hot-wire it for you."

Kitty shot the motorcycle an irritated look. "If it were that easy, I'd've been out of here. I'll walk you back, though. If you need a break, you can always sit on the bike."

"Nah, I'll be good. Slayer heal-" Faith cut herself off at her slip, but Kitty pinned her with a sharp look.

"Slayer?"

"Forget it."

"Listen, I was attacked earlier. They were looking for someone called a slayer."

"What?"

"They thought it might be me, wanted to bring me back to their boss." Kitty watched for Faith's reaction, "One of them said something about me being dinner if I wasn't what they wanted."

The teenager paled slightly, "Who?"

"I didn't hear a name before Lockheed chased them off."

Faith glanced towards the ledge. That explained what she'd seen outside the motel.

"You think you know who they work for, don't you."

Faith shook her head, starting to pace, "He's-I-there's this guy in Boston I pissed off."

"We're in Milwaukee."

"I really pissed him off."

"What is he, a mob boss or something"

"Definitely 'or something'." Faith looked around.

"You think they'll come back."

"I've already had to run twice since Boston."

Kitty nodded and began to detach the saddlebags from her bike.

"What are you doing?"

"Bike won't start. If we have to run, it's just dead weight."

"'We'? No, way. You're-"

"Already involved. You seem to know about these guys. Would they let me go just because it's mistaken identity?"

"No."

"I didn't think so." She looked up, "Lockheed, we're going!"

He dropped to land on Kitty's shoulders as they started walking.

"Nuh uh, dragon. You get to help carry."

Faith bit back a laugh at his affronted look.

"I know you can handle the weight." Kitty continued. "Besides, you made a friend run injured and naked through the streets."

Lockheed growled softly but took one of the bags.

"I'm your friend, huh?"

"Look, you know about these guys. If they could come after me, I want to know what I'm dealing with." Kitty shrugged, "I'd rather work with you as a friend."

"He'll kill you."

"I've survived death threats before. And maybe I can help you figure out how to get this guy off your back."

"You really think so?"

"You're half-way there." Kitty grinned, "You've still got your towel."


	4. You're Not Alone

You're Not Alone

* * *

><p>Faith jerked awake and rolled to her feet, ready to fight the intruder in her room, before she recognized her new companion and remembered: the demon, the hospital, her interrupted shower, and picking up her stuff on the way to catch a train. She only half-remembered the trip and going to the hotel in...<p>

"Where are we?"

"Minneapolis, remember? We double backed from Chicago."

"Oh, yeah."

"With any luck, they'll be looking for two solo travelers, rather than a pair of sisters and we'll have some time to plan."

"Sisters? Again?"

"It worked at the hospital."

Faith tilted her head in acknowledgment and began removing her bandages.

"How are your injuries?"

"Fine, but I think I gotta get these stitches out later today."

Kitty examined them for a moment, "You're probably right. I don't know where the clinics or hospitals-"

"No! No, way! Once this month is way too much. Just, I'll get some scissors or something, take 'em out myself."

"Ever done it before?"

"How hard can it be? Snip and pull, right?"

"Yeah, but if you're not careful, you'll cut or tear the skin. Kind of defeats the purpose of doing stitches in the first place."

"You got a better idea?"

"Actually, yeah. I do it."

"You're a medic, now?"

Kitty shook her head, "No, just experience with field medicine."

"So, what now?"

"This guy chasing you."

Faith tensed, "What about him?"

"Why is he after you?"

"Why do you care? I mean, besides the whole mistaken identity deal."

"Because someone helped me stop running once."

Faith jumped up, "I don't run, I'm dead!"

"Keep going it alone, you probably will be!"

A stricken look crossed her face before dissolving into anger.

"So you're just gonna dump me-"

"I never said that!" Kitty snapped in her face.

"Then what are you sayin'?"

"Going solo, you have to do everything yourself. It's really easy to miss something and get hurt. Or worse. Got a partner, they can see what you miss. Pull you out if things go wrong."

"What do you know about that?"

"You mean like ducking into an alley, hoping the car up the street isn't full of the gun-toting thugs hunting you? Or maybe watching a security guard get shot because he's trying to protect you? Or how about running from someplace that's supposed to be safe but isn't because _everyone_ there is being mind-controlled?" Kitty stepped back, "And then there's the time I went solo and did get caught: caught, brainwashed, and sent to kill one of my closest friends.

"The only reason I didn't succeed is because he had someone watching _his_ back. She stopped me and they hauled me off for deprogramming. Took more than two months to reverse less than a week of damage." Kitty turned and headed for the door, "The hotel has free breakfast until ten. Let me know what you decide."

Faith sat down in a slump as Kitty left. Her instincts told her the young woman had been straight with her and Faith wondered if she'd just blown her best chance at getting Kakistos off her back. True, there supposedly was some other Slayer running around in California but, the last Faith had heard, she'd disappeared.

"Hmph."

She frowned, twisting around until she saw Lockheed watching her from the little nest he'd made from discarded clothes.

"What, you gonna rag on me, too?"

Lockheed pulled an item out of the pile and dropped it over her face. Faith removed the towel to glare at him.

"Funny."

* * *

><p>Kitty moved the remains of her breakfast out of the way for Faith to join her.<p>

"What did you decide?"

"You really think you can help me?"

"Yes."

"You got any ideas?"

"Sure, but somehow I don't think locking him up and looping 'The Song that Never Ends' would be enough."

"Now, that's just evil."

Kitty grinned, "Nah, evil would be saddling him with the X-babies."

"The who?"

"You know the X-Men?"

"Heard of them."

"Imagine them as preschoolers."

Faith almost spit out her juice.

"Exactly." Kitty leaned back and glanced around the empty room before continuing, "Now, how determined is the guy after you?"

Faith expression closed abruptly, "Why?"

"Some bad guys go for easy targets, others for a challenge or for pay, some become fixated on a target-"

"That," Faith interrupted, "and he'll kill anyone in his way, too."

"Do you know how he's tracking you?'

"No, I...wait. I think I heard one of them talkin' about computers?"

"So, tech-based."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does. If you know how he's getting his information, you can manipulate the information he sees. If we do it right, we can pick when, where, and how to confront him rather than you waiting for him and wondering when he'll find you again."

"You ever done it?"

"A couple times. Even pulled the 'don't tell your friends so their reactions are right' stunt."

Faith rolled her eyes, but Kitty could see the tension in the younger girl's body had faded some.

"You ever do that to me, I'll kick your ass."

"You can try. I was trained by the best."

"Wanna find out who's better?"

Kitty grinned, "You're on."

Faith returned the grin before finishing her breakfast.

While she waited, Kitty grabbed a newspaper.

"Hey, Faith?"

"Yeah?"

"You said you like baseball, right?"

"Gotta be Red Sox, baby."

Kitty handed her the sports section, "Well, they're playing the Twins here, tomorrow."

"Where am I gonna find Sox gear in Minneapolis?"


End file.
